Page 5 of The Summer Escape

“I’m in charge of bookings,” Mirren said.

“Yes. But it’s still my house, and you knew I was coming back. It’s supposed to be empty from tomorrow for the rest of the summer.”

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist!”

Trystan let out an exasperated sigh. “I’ll just go over there and explain your mistake and kick them out.” There was no way he’d do it, but he wanted to make a point to his mum.

“You’d never be able to kick them out,” Kit said with a smirk.

“Is he massive?” Trystan asked, his lips pulling to a smile.

“No. A tiny little girl.”

“I could kick a kid out,” Trystan said, full of bravado.

“You couldn’t,” Kit replied confidently. “She’s got gorgeous big blue eyes and she’s as cute as anything. You’d melt as soon as she looked at you.”

Mirren wrinkled her brow. “It rained all week for them, the poor things. Not much of a holiday. That’s why I said they could stay longer. It’s just the mum and her little girl. They’re ever so sweet.”

“How long are they staying?” Trystan asked. Staying with his mum was fine for a while, but he’d been looking forward to spending the summer in the cottage.

“Just until Wednesday,” Mirren said. “Although I was half thinking of offering for them to stay in the house with me after that.”

“You should,” Seren said. “It’d be nice for you to have the company.”

Trystan shook his head. “Don’t do it. Having a kid around the house will drive you mad after a couple of days. And it’s always weird when you have strangers staying in the house.”

“I say go for it,” Kit said. “It’s a bit of extra money. And the kid’s super cute. Her mum’s nice too.”

“I’ll think about it,” Mirren said.

They all looked up as Keira arrived.

“I’m really sorry I didn’t pick you up from the airport,” she said, dropping onto the stool beside Trystan. “My boss forgot to let me know about a conference call until the last minute. I couldn’t get out of it.”

He gave her a steely look. “It was pretty annoying to walk from the airport with my luggage.”

“Was it really?” Seren said, her tone making it clear she knew he hadn’t walked from the airport at all. “So my dad didn’t drive past and give you a lift?”

“There are no secrets around here, are there? Did he call you just to tell you that?”

“Yep.”

“Were you just trying to make me feel bad?” Keira said, giving him a playful shove.

“I might not have had to walk home with my luggage,” he said with a smile. “But I did have the embarrassment of explaining to Ben how my family don’t care enough to pick me up from the airport.”

“I had a work thing,” Keira said, shaking her head. “I’d have come otherwise.”

“I’ll forgive you. But you owe me a dance …”

She glanced around the busy pub. “I’m not dancing with you now. There’s no room.”

“No, but the next time I ask you to dance, you have to do it. Without rolling your eyes. Deal?”

“Fine. You’re weird about dancing, you know.”

“I’m not,” he insisted, shaking her hand to seal the deal. “It’s the rest of you who are weirdly unenthusiastic about dancing with me.” He pulled her into a side hug. “It’s nice to see you, by the way.”